How to Set Up Klaviyo Flows: Complete Setup Guide

To set up a Klaviyo flow, navigate to Flows in your dashboard, click Create Flow, select a trigger (such as Added to Cart or Joined a List), configure your trigger and flow filters, set time delays between actions, and add email or SMS actions. Set every action to Manual for review before switching to Live.

A Klaviyo flow that fires on the wrong people at the wrong time doesn't just underperform — it actively costs you revenue. The setup steps are easy. The configuration decisions are where most DTC brands get it wrong.

This guide covers the full Klaviyo flow setup process: how to build your first flow, which flows to prioritize, the three configuration decisions that separate high-converting flows from low-converting ones, and the benchmarks to tell you whether what you built is actually working.

If you want a UI walkthrough, Klaviyo's own help docs cover that. If you want to know what to decide and why — keep reading.

What Is a Klaviyo Flow — and How Is It Different From a Campaign?

A Klaviyo flow is an automated email or SMS sequence that triggers based on a specific customer action — a signup, a cart addition, a purchase — rather than a scheduled send date. Unlike campaigns, which go to a list at a specific time you choose, flows fire in response to what a customer does, which is why they convert at a higher rate.

Klaviyo Flow is the platform's automation engine — a visual builder where you chain together triggers, time delays, conditional splits, and actions (emails, SMS, webhooks) into a sequence that runs on autopilot. Flow Trigger is the specific event or condition that initiates a flow sequence, such as a customer joining a list, placing an order, or abandoning a cart. Campaign is a one-time send you schedule manually. The distinction matters because your highest-converting touchpoints — cart recovery, welcome, post-purchase — are all flows, not campaigns.

Here's the practical difference: a campaign is something you send to people. A flow is something people trigger by taking action. Welcome flows convert at 8–15% according to Blossom's benchmark data. Most campaign sends sit well below that — because the timing is based on your schedule, not the customer's behavior.

Flow revenue as a share of total email revenue is one of the most telling health metrics in any Klaviyo account. Based on Blossom's Klaviyo benchmark data, flows should drive 30–50% of total email revenue in a healthy program. If you're below that, flows are underbuilt.

For a broader look at how email automation fits into retention strategy, Klaviyo's email automation overview is a useful reference for understanding the ecosystem your flows operate within.

Which Klaviyo Flows Should You Build First?

Build in revenue-impact order: welcome series and abandoned cart first, then post-purchase and browse abandonment, then winback and VIP. The first two flows capture intent at its peak — a new subscriber in their first 48 hours, and a shopper with items sitting in their cart. Every other flow builds on that foundation.

Here's the Flow Prioritization Matrix — which flows to build first based on revenue impact and implementation complexity:

Tier 1 — Build Immediately (High Revenue, Lower Complexity)

• Welcome Series: Highest-engagement touchpoint in the entire lifecycle. Based on Blossom's benchmark data, welcome flows drive 30–50% of total flow revenue — meaning they account for roughly 9–25% of total email revenue when flows are running at a healthy share of program revenue. If you have one flow live, make it this.
• Abandoned Cart Flow: These subscribers added something to their cart. They already decided they wanted the product — something interrupted them. Cart abandonment flows convert at 5–12% according to Blossom's Klaviyo benchmark data.

Tier 2 — Build Next (High Revenue, Moderate Complexity)

• Abandoned Checkout Flow: Higher intent than cart — these contacts entered payment or shipping info. Checkout abandonment flows convert at 8–18% based on Blossom's benchmark data. Slightly more complex to configure correctly but worth it.
• Post-Purchase Flow: The most neglected high-value flow. Drives repeat purchase rates, review collection, and cross-sell revenue. The brands that skip this are leaving LTV on the table.
• Browse Abandonment Flow: Lower intent than cart, but high volume. A solid browse abandonment flow setup converts window shoppers who showed product interest without adding to cart. Conversion rates run 2–5% based on Blossom's benchmark data — but the volume makes it worth building.

Tier 3 — Build When Core Flows Are Solid

• Winback Flow: Targets lapsed customers. Lower conversion but high-value recoveries — winback flows convert at 2–5% according to Blossom's Klaviyo benchmark data.
• VIP Flow: Once you have enough repeat buyers to define a VIP threshold, build this. Exclusivity and early access, not discounts.
• Replenishment Flow: Only for consumable products. Trigger 3–5 days before customers run out.

Don't try to build everything at once. A well-configured welcome flow and abandoned cart flow will generate more revenue than six half-finished flows. Do Tier 1 first, optimize until they're performing at benchmark, then expand.

How Do You Set Up a Flow in Klaviyo? (Step-by-Step)

Creating a Klaviyo flow takes five steps: navigate to Flows, choose a trigger, configure your trigger and flow filters, set your time delays, and add email or SMS actions. The mechanical steps are straightforward — the configuration decisions inside each step are where most brands stumble.

1. Navigate to Flows. In your Klaviyo dashboard, click Flows in the left sidebar, then click Create Flow. You can start from a template (Klaviyo has pre-built templates for welcome, cart abandonment, and post-purchase) or build from scratch. For your first few flows, start from a template — then customize the logic.
2. Select your trigger. The trigger is what starts the flow. Klaviyo offers four trigger types: List/Segment triggers (someone joins a list or segment), Metric triggers (someone takes a specific action like Placed Order or Started Checkout), Date Property triggers (based on a profile property like a birthday), and Price Drop triggers (a product they viewed dropped in price). Most DTC flows use Metric triggers — they respond to real customer behavior.
3. Set your trigger filters and flow filters. This is the most important configuration step — and the one most guides skip entirely. See the next section for a full breakdown.
4. Configure time delays. Between each action in your flow, you set a delay. The length of that delay determines whether your email catches the subscriber at the right moment or misses them entirely.
5. Add actions and publish. Add your email or SMS actions, set each to Manual (for review) before switching to Live, and activate the flow. Test with a real profile before going fully live.

One configuration decision most brands get wrong: activating flows immediately without setting them to Manual first. Set every action to Manual, review what goes out with a test profile, then switch to Live. Sending a broken welcome email to your first 500 subscribers is not a recoverable mistake.

What Is the Difference Between a Trigger Filter and a Flow Filter in Klaviyo?

A Trigger Filter is a condition evaluated once at the moment a flow trigger fires, determining whether a contact is allowed to enter the flow at all. A Flow Filter is a condition that runs continuously throughout a flow and removes a contact from the sequence the moment they no longer meet the criteria. Getting this distinction wrong is the single most common configuration mistake in Klaviyo.

Here's a concrete example of why this matters:

Your abandoned cart flow has a trigger: "Added Item to Cart." You want to exclude people who have already purchased. If you put "Has not placed order" as a trigger filter, the check only happens at the moment someone adds to cart. If they purchase an hour later (while still in the flow), they'll keep receiving cart abandonment emails — because the filter already passed.

"Has not placed order" belongs as a flow filter on any abandonment flow, not a trigger filter, because you need Klaviyo to check it before every email — not just at entry.

When to Use Trigger Filters

• Condition: Only needs to be true at the moment of entry
• Example — New Subscribers: Source equals popup — checking signup source at entry

When to Use Flow Filters

• Condition: Must remain true throughout the flow, or the contact should exit
• Example — SMS flows: Has not placed order since entering flow — checking purchase status before every send
• Example — Active Customers list: Still on the list — checking ongoing list membership throughout the sequence

The rule of thumb: if it's something that can change while the person is in the flow, it belongs as a flow filter. If it's an entry condition that's already baked in by the time they trigger, it can be a trigger filter.

This is one of those configuration decisions that looks minor in the UI but determines whether your flows fire on the right people or burn through goodwill by emailing recent buyers with cart recovery messages.

Not sure if your filters are configured correctly? Get your free flow audit — we check trigger filters and flow filters on every Klaviyo account we review, and this is one of the first things we find misconfigured.

How Do Klaviyo Re-Entry Settings Work?

Re-entry Settings is the Klaviyo configuration that controls whether a contact can enter the same flow more than once, and if so, how frequently. For welcome flows, re-entry should almost always be off — a subscriber should only get the welcome sequence once. For winback and browse abandonment flows, re-entry on a defined window (typically 14–30 days) is usually the right configuration.

Re-entry settings is the second critical configuration decision — and Klaviyo's default is often wrong for the use case. Here's how to think through it by flow type:

Re-Entry: Off (Recommended)

• Welcome Flow: A subscriber should receive the welcome sequence once in their lifetime. Allowing re-entry means someone who unsubscribes and re-subscribes gets the full welcome sequence again — which may be fine, but set a minimum time window (365 days) if you allow it at all.
• Post-Purchase Flow (First-Time Buyer): The onboarding sequence is a one-time experience. After the first purchase, contacts should route to the repeat-buyer post-purchase flow, not start the new-buyer sequence again.

Re-Entry: On, With a Time Window

• Abandoned Cart Flow: A shopper might abandon multiple carts over several weeks. Allow re-entry, but set a frequency cap — typically 14 days between entries. This prevents someone from being in the cart abandonment flow constantly.
• Browse Abandonment Flow: Same logic. Allow re-entry with a 14-day window. Someone who browses your site repeatedly is showing ongoing intent — the flow should fire each time, not just the first.
• Winback Flow: Allow re-entry after 90–180 days. A customer who lapses again after being winback'd is a second-time lapse case — they should enter the winback sequence again with an updated offer.

Re-Entry: Never

• Sunset Flow: If someone goes through the sunset sequence and gets suppressed, you do not want them re-entering the flow automatically.

The dangerous configuration is leaving re-entry on with no time window on a welcome or post-purchase flow. Someone who purchases three times in a month shouldn't receive the new-buyer welcome sequence three times. Klaviyo lets you make this mistake easily — you have to actively prevent it.

How Do Klaviyo Flow Time Delays Work — and What Should You Set Them To?

Time delays control how long Klaviyo waits between actions in a flow. The right delay depends on the purchase behavior of your product category: impulse-purchase products (beauty, supplements, accessories) need shorter delays to catch intent while it's hot; considered-purchase products (furniture, tech, apparel) can afford longer windows. There's no universal answer — the delay should match how quickly your customer makes decisions.

Here are the delay frameworks we use, by flow type:

Abandoned Cart Flow — Delay Recommendations

• Email 1: 1 hour after trigger. The sweet spot for catching interruptions without feeling intrusive. In our experience, first cart emails at the 1-hour mark tend to meaningfully outperform 24-hour delays for most DTC categories.
• Email 2: 24 hours after Email 1. Social proof, objection handling, and a light nudge.
• Email 3: 48 hours after Email 2. Final push, optional incentive.

Welcome Flow — Delay Recommendations

• Email 1: Immediate. Deliver the offer while the subscriber's attention is on your brand.
• Email 2: 1 day after Email 1. Brand story and credibility.
• Email 3: 2 days after Email 2. Product education.
• Email 4: 2 days after Email 3. Social proof.
• Email 5: 2 days after Email 4. Last chance — offer expiration.

Browse Abandonment — Delay Recommendations

• Email 1: 2–4 hours after browsing. Long enough to not feel surveillance-y, short enough to catch active intent.
• Email 2: 24 hours after Email 1. Social proof for the product they viewed, plus alternatives.

The principle: match the urgency of the delay to the urgency of the action. Checkout abandonment (highest intent) should trigger your first email within 30–60 minutes. Browse abandonment (lower intent) can wait 2–4 hours. A welcome flow can space out over 7–10 days — there's no urgency signal to chase.

What Are Conditional Splits and How Do They Multiply Flow Revenue?

A Conditional Split is a branch point inside a Klaviyo flow that evaluates a condition — such as prior purchase history or profile data — and routes contacts into different paths based on whether they meet that condition. Adding a single conditional split based on prior purchase status — buyer vs. non-buyer — to your welcome or browse abandonment flow is the highest-leverage configuration move most DTC brands have never made.

Conditional Split is a flow action in Klaviyo that evaluates a condition and sends contacts down a YES or NO path. The YES path gets one set of emails; the NO path gets another. This is where flows go from generic sequences to genuinely personalized experiences.

The most impactful split you can build immediately: in your welcome flow, after Email 1, add a conditional split:

• Condition: Has placed order at least once
• YES path (existing customers who re-subscribed): Skip the "discover our products" sequence. Route straight to a loyalty angle — exclusive content, VIP positioning, cross-sell.
• NO path (true new subscribers): Run the full welcome sequence — brand story, product education, social proof, offer close.

Without this split, existing customers get the same onboarding sequence as brand-new subscribers. That's not just irrelevant — it actively signals that you don't recognize them, which erodes the relationship you've already built.

Other high-value conditional splits to add once your flows are established:

• Browse abandonment, before Email 1: Has viewed this product category before? YES path leads with social proof for the specific product. NO path leads with more education about the brand.
• Post-purchase, at entry: First-time buyer or repeat buyer? YES path (repeat buyer) skips the brand intro and goes straight to review request and cross-sell. NO path gets the full new-buyer onboarding.
• Cart abandonment, before Email 3: Has placed order since entering flow? YES path exits the sequence entirely. NO path receives the final push with optional incentive.

For a deeper playbook on building the welcome flow that converts, including conditional split architecture and email-level copy direction, we've covered the full strategic layer there.

For external context on how leading brands architect conditional logic in automation, Shopify's email marketing automation guide covers how segmentation and branching logic applies across the DTC lifecycle.

How Do You Measure Whether Your Klaviyo Flows Are Performing?

Klaviyo's flow analytics live under each flow's individual report — you'll see emails delivered, open rate, click rate, revenue, and placed order rate per message. The metric that matters most is placed order rate: the percentage of recipients who placed an order after receiving that email. Open rates are unreliable post-iOS 15. Revenue per recipient is the clearest performance signal.

Placed order rate is the percentage of email recipients who completed a purchase attributed to that message within Klaviyo's attribution window (5-day click, 5-day open by default). This is the conversion metric for flow emails — not open rate, not click rate alone.

Here are the benchmark ranges to evaluate your flows against, based on Blossom's DTC benchmark data:

Flow Performance Benchmarks

• Welcome Series: Open rate results that vary by program | Click rate performance that shifts with your audience | Conversion rate performance that shifts with your audience | Revenue per recipient $3–8
• Abandoned Cart: Open rate numbers that depend on your setup | Click rate figures that differ across accounts | Conversion rate figures that differ across accounts | Revenue per recipient $5–15
• Abandoned Checkout: Open rate performance that shifts with your audience | Click rate outcomes tied to your specific list | Conversion rate outcomes tied to your specific list | Revenue per recipient $8–20
• Browse Abandonment: Open rate figures that differ across accounts | Click rate results that vary by program | Conversion rate results that vary by program | Revenue per recipient $1–4
• Winback: Open rate outcomes tied to your specific list | Click rate numbers that depend on your setup | Conversion rate numbers that depend on your setup | Revenue per recipient $2–6

If your welcome flow is converting at results that vary by program, that's not a content problem — that's a configuration problem. Check your trigger filters, your time delays, and your conditional split architecture before rewriting a single email.

And if you're trying to understand what Klaviyo is actually attributing to your flows versus what's truly incremental, how Klaviyo attributes flow revenue is a critical read before drawing conclusions from your analytics dashboard.

Once flows are performing at benchmark, the next step is testing your way to better numbers. We've laid out the full framework for how to A/B test your flows — what to isolate, how long to run tests, and when to ship the winner.

Key Takeaways

• Build flows in revenue-impact order: welcome and abandoned cart first. Every other flow is built on the foundation those two create.
• The trigger filter vs. flow filter distinction is the most under-configured setting in Klaviyo. Trigger filters check once at entry; flow filters check continuously throughout the sequence.
• Re-entry settings should be off for welcome and first-time buyer post-purchase flows, and on with a defined time window for abandonment and winback flows.
• Time delays should match the urgency of the trigger: 30–60 minutes for checkout abandonment, 1 hour for cart abandonment, 2–4 hours for browse abandonment.
• A single conditional split — buyer vs. non-buyer — in your welcome flow is the highest-leverage configuration move most DTC brands have never made.
• Measure flows by placed order rate and revenue per recipient, not open rate. If your welcome flow is below healthy conversion, it's a configuration problem before it's a content problem.

How Do I Test a Klaviyo Flow Before Going Live?

Set every action in the flow to Manual status before activating. This holds messages in a queue for review rather than sending them automatically. Then use Klaviyo's preview feature with a test profile to walk through the flow logic. Once you've confirmed the trigger fires correctly, the emails render properly, and the conditional splits route as expected, switch actions to Live one at a time. Never activate a flow at full Live status without a manual review pass first.

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